Shoe



Sept. 6, 1938.

A. O. DAHLBERG SHOE 2 sheets-sheet i Filed July 5, 1935 Sept. 6, 1938. A. o. DAHLBERG SHOE Filed July 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT ortie 12 laims.

My invention relates generally to shoes, and

more particularly to an improvement in the construction of shoes whereby the shoe will maintain its shape when not being iworn.

It is a well known vfact that shoes after having been worn for a short time, tend to lose their shape, particularly due to the fact that the sole warps, causing the toe portion of the shoe to turn upwardly. This tendency is very pronounced in ladies shoes. To overcome this tendencyi it is, of course, the common practice to insert shoe trees .or shoe stretchers into the shoes while they are not being worn. The insertion of thelshoe trees is, however, a bothersome task.

Furthermore, some shoes being of lighter construction than others, require a shoe tree having a much lighter spring than is required for shoe trees to be used in shoes of'more substantial construction. Thus, it requires a relatively large assortment 'of shoe trees in order properly to preserve the shape of the particular types of shoes which a person may have at a particular sole thereof and arranged to holdthe shoe in properly stretched 'shape while it is not being worn. n

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in fwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe f ing my invention;

Cil

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the shoe taken on the line directly above the sole, a portion of the insole and sock lining being broken away to show thev resilient member; A

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the resilient member;

Fig. 4 is a. view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified form of my invention in which two resilient members are incorporated in the shoe;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the toe portionof a shoe;

Fig. 6 is a. similar view illustrating a mndifled iii-corporatincorporated therein.

method of incorporating the resilient member in the sole of the shoe;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line l-Jl of Fig. 8;

Fig; 8 is a sectional view taken directly above the insole of a shoe incorporating Ia modiiied form of my invention, portions of the insole being shown as broken away to illustrate the internal construction;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a shoe incorporating my inventionin the shape assumed while it is being worn; v

Fig. 10 is a lview similar to Fig. 9 showing the shoe-in the shape 'assumed while it is not `being worn and has been ilexed downwardly;

Fig. 11 is a side view of a shoe incorporating afurther modified form of my invention;

Fig. 12 is a side view of the resilient member utilized in the shoe shown in Fig. il;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged end view of the resilient member shown in Fig. 12; and

Fig. 14 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of a modiiled form of resilient member, similar to that shown in Figs. 12 and 13, but with a covering applied thereto.

The salient fcature'of my invention is the iin,- corporation in the solepor insole of a shoe, of a. resilient member which tends to atte'n the sole of the shoe, and one that does so decisively, at the election of the owner, when the shoe is not being worn, thereby maintaining the shoe in shape. The preferred form of resilient mem-I ber is a strip of thin, -high tensile strength steel, preferably stainless, which is arcuate in cross section. A familiar example of the type of resilient member used'is the self-supporting flex.

-ible steel scale, of the type disclosed in the patent to Ferrand, No.1,402,589. -This type of resill ient member has the pronounced advantage that it possesses considerable rigidity (especially with respect to bending toward its convex surface) when straight, but is very e ly flexed after a critical point in its iiexure has n passed.

It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the shoe comprises a counter Il) having alstrap- I2 and a combined toe and vamp` i4, shank |6,fand out- 1 sole I8. In this figure, the shoe isl shown in full lines in the position in which it is held by the resilient member, and in dotted lines in the shape the shoe assumes when exed as when being H worn whilewalking. The dotted lines also illustrate the conformation the shoe would assume when not beingV worn i1 my invention were not The resilient member 2li-,comprises a strip 22 vAn ordinary self-supporting steel tape of the type disclosed in the above noted Farrand patent is of approximately the shape, size and kind of material required; Of course, for diiierent shoes the dimensions and the material used will be varied. For example, for mens shoes having a heavier outsole than the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1, the resilient strip will, of course, be niade heavier or wider. or both.

The strip 22 preferably has'a plurality of projecting lugs 24 stamped therefrom to aid in anchoring the strip in the insole ofthe shoe. In Fig. 3, the strip 22 is illustrated as having a coating or` covering 28 of rubber or other suitable material for protecting the strip against corrosion and oxidation, and to render it less liable to out into the sole in which it is embedded.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, thev insole 28 has aslot 30 formed therein to receive the strip 22. The lugs 24 on the strip 22 project into the soft material of the insole 28 or into the lining sole 32, depending upon the depth of the slot 38.

, and thus hold the strip against movement relative tov the insole. The insole may be made of sheet cork or other suitable material and it is preferably covered by a thin leather, cloth, or composition lining sole 32. The resilient member 22 preferably extends along a line indicated at 34 in Fig. 2 and passing from the center of the heel portion through the approximate center of pressure of the ball ci' the foot upon the sole, although considerable variation from this location is feasible. In this form of my invention the strip 22 extends only a short distance beyond the ball of the shoe but extends a sufiicient distance into the shank portion to form an anchorage in the shank for the strip. 'I'he strip may be cemeted, sewed, cleated by means of lugs such as indicated at 24, or otherwise secured in place, but it is desirable to secure the strip so firmly in place that there will-be no danger that it may work itself loose.

Inthe act of putting on the shoe, the strip 22 `will flex upwardly at one point or at a given'A transverse line, in a manner to permit the sole to flex and remain flexed in the vicinity of such point as long as the shoe is being worn. The location of the point or transverse line at which the strip will iiex will, of course, depend upon the4 character of theshoe and the characteristics of the foot of the wearer, but generally speaking, will be located at the point of maximum ilexure of` the sole. -At this point of ilexure the strip has very little resistance to bending movement so that the presence of the strip will not be noticeable to the wearer'.A When the shoe is removed,

' this point of iiexure (where the strip is of lineal transverse cross section) will usually remain due to the inherent tendency oi the sole to turn up. However, a slight downward fiexure of the toe of the shoe relative to theheel will readily cause the strip 22 to resume its transverse arcuate cross section throughout its length, and when -in this shape the strip is sufficiently rigid to maintain the toe of the sole depressed. This straightening of the sole of the shoe will cause the vamp and toe cap piece of the shoe to maintain their'proper shapes.l It will be understood'that during the act of walking. thetransverse line of flexure of the strip 22 mayshift back and forth to a certain extent as, the curvature of the sole changes with succesdfve shifting of the weight of the wearer from the heel toward the toe. This shifting of the transverse line of exure takes place under the influence of relatively small forces, and thus the strip does not noticeably add to the stiffness of the sole of the shoe while the shoe is being worn. When, however, the shoe is removed from the foot and the strip 22 straightened by bending the toe portion of the sole downwardly the sole isstiifened bythe metallic strip 22, and thus holds the shoe in shape as above described.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form oi shoe in which two strips 22 are incorporated in the same manner as the single strip shown in Figs.

2 and 5. When a shoe having a relatively heavy and rigid sole is to be equipped 'with my inven-v tion, two or more strips may be used, as shown in Fig. 4. If desired, however, two strips may be used for relatively light weight soles, lin which -case the strips will be of thinner metal, orl will be narrower, or both.

In Fig. 6 I'have illustrated a modiiied form of my invention in which the strip 36 is positioned in a rubber insole 38. 'I'he rubber is preferably bonded directly to the strip 36. This construction has the advantage that thedanger of the metallic strip working loose and being a source of discomfort to the wearer is substantially eliminated. The rubber insole 38 may be vulcanized, cemented, or sewed to the outsole i8 which may be oi.' rubber,or the insole 38 and outsole I8 may be integral. f l

In Figs. 1 and 8 the strip is mounted inthe same manner as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5, but a -weight distributing flexible member 48 is located between several plies of the lining insole 50, or may be located between the lining insole and the insole proper 28. This weight distributing member 48 may be in the form of a very thin sheet of metal, in the form of a metallic wire screen, or in the form of a heavy still! cloth or other suitable material. The member 48 not only aids in `preventing the strip 22 from wearing through the lining insole, but also reduces the possibility of discomfort to the wearer, since the pressure of the strip 22 upon thefoot, which might otherwise be' exerted upon a limited area of the foot, is distributed over a larger area.v

Fig. l0 shows a. shoe incorporating a slightlyl 'modied form of my invention, in which the metallic strip 52 is slightly convex (upwardly) instead of' being rectilinear in longitudinal cross section. It vwill be noted from Fig. 10 that this strip will snap into its relatively rigid position when the toe portion of the shoe is bent downwardly beyond its normal position, and thus tend to exert a greater force to hold the sole of the shoe in a flat or plane position.

'I'he strip 52, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, is otherwise of substantially the same construction as the strip 22 previously described. It may,

however,- as indicated in Fig. 14, be covered with a thin layer 54 terial.

'I'he shoe shown in Fig. 11 has a strip such as shown in Fig. 12 incorporated therein, and the position assumed by the strip 52 while the shoe is being used in walking is indicated by the dotted line 56, While the shape which the strip 52 would assume if free is indicated by the dotted .line 58. 'I'he shape of the shoe indicated in full lines in of rubber or other suitable ma- .strains imposed on the strip at no point reach the criticalvalue at which the strip"w ill snap into the shape where it has a pronounced bend at one point. The stripwill maintain its transverse Aarcuate shape throughout the entire length under these conditions. VIn other respects the modified form-of my lnvention shown in Figs. 1l to13, inclusive, may be substantially the same as any one of the constructions previously described. n

-It will be noted, however, that the strip need not extend into the shank. Whether the strip will be made sufficiently long to extend into the shank will depend upon the materials and design of the particular model of shoe in which myfin vention is incorporated. For example, in a ladys shoe having a very light and flexibleshank, the strip may extend a. considerable .distance along the shank, so that lts rearward end portion has a secure anchorage therein, whereas in a shoe having a heavier shank, the stripl may extend a lesser distance along the shank. In the latter case, the heaviersole affords a better anchorage for the rearward end of the strip. The style or shape of the vamp may also be a factor in determining the length of thestrip, since it is the purpose of the strip to hold the sole and the vamp in a. slightly stretched condition whenever the shoe is not being worn. For example, in an Oxford type of shoe, the strip-would have to be longer than in a sandal type of shoe, because in the former type of shoe the material of the vamp will require a greater force to hold it in shape thanv the latter type of shoe, and the forces tending to hold the vamp in shape must be applied to the sole throughout a greater length thereof than would be the case with the sandal type. In the sandal type, and in shoes in which the material of the vamp is reduced so as to approach that of the sandal type, the function of the strip is .substantially solely to hold the sole. straight when the shoe'is not being Worn. lIn other types of shoes, more nearly resembling the Oxford type,

the strip must not only hold the sole of the shoe straight, but mustbe. of suillclent length and strength to hold the vamp inshap'e.

.th'e shoe to the 'mid portion of the shank,said Y While I havel shown and described but several of a number ofpossible embodiments of my intherein a thin,v resilient, metallic strip arcuate upwardly in transverse crosssection and extending froma point adjacent to the toe portion `of strip being eiective 'in its undistorted condition to hold the soleand upper of the shoe in its original shape. f

2. In a shoe, the combination of -a sole, a rela-` tively-thin and elastic metallic strip secured to said sole, and extending longitudinally thereof,

said strip being arcuate upwardly in transverse cross-section, and lugs'formed from said strip and projecting therefrom to anchor said strip against movement relative to said sole.

3. In a shoe, the lcombination of a sole, and a relatively thin metallic stripembedded in said sole, said strip-being4 generally arcuate upwardly transversely and being sufficiently. elastic that when itis exed upwardly beyond a critical point it will assume a substantially rectilinear transverse section at the point of fiexure and maintain its arcuate shape throughout the remainder of its length.

4.In 'a shoe, the combination of a sole, a relatively vthin resilient metallic strip secured to said sole.' said strip extending longitudinally of said sole and being arcuate upwardly in transverse cross-section whereby it'will offer but little resistance to exure of said sole when the latter lhas been flexed upwardly beyond a predetermined extent but will be effective to hold said sole in substantially a -planewhen the strip is substantially unllexed. 5. In a shoe, the combination of a sole, and means for .restraining the toe portion vof said sole from bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion of said sole, said means comprising a thin elastic metallic member arcuate upwardly in transverse cross-section and extending longitudinally of the sole, and means for sole from bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion of the sole, said means comprising a relatively thin elastic strip arcuate upwardly in transverse cross section and being slightly longitudinally bowed upwardly in curvature lreverse to'that ofthe sole, said strip being structurally incorporated in said sole and ex-- tending longitudinally thereof'.

;8. In a shoe, the combination of a sole, and means for restraining the toe portion of said sole from bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion of said sole, said means comprising a relatively thin elastic metallic strip arcuate upwardly in transverse cross-section embedded in `said sole, and a pressure distributing member covering said stripf 9. In a shoe, the combination of a sole, and

means for restraining the toe portion of said sole from bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion of said sole when the shoe is not being worn, said means comprising a thin metallic flexible strip arcuate upwardly in transverse cross-section and having a protective coating of an' elastic material, said stripbeing secured to said sole.

l0. In a shoe, the combination of a sole, and

means for restraining the toe portion of said sole from bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion of said sole when the shoe is not being worn, said means comprising a thin elastic metallic strip secured to said sole and extending longitudinally thereof, said strip being arcuateupwardlyvin transverse cross-section and U bending upwardly with respect to the remaining portion o f said' sole, said means comprising athin exible member arcuate upwardly in transverse cross section except at one place along its length when the shoe is being worn ln walking,

but arcuate upwardly in transverse section over its entire length after the shoesole has been pulled downwardly sulciently to restore said exible member substantially to its undistorted shape.

ARTHUR O. DAHLBERG. 

